Visual indication apparatus with rotatable transparent discs

ABSTRACT

A novel rotary indicator apparatus which is particularly suitable for timepieces but which is adaptable for any application where derived information is to be visually displayed. For time-pieces two or more graduated discs are utilized in co-centric relation to one another. At least one of such discs is caused to rotate with respect to the other by having the respective discs exhibit a progressively decreasing color intensity but in opposite directions, a unique visual effect or traveling zone is evidenced to the viewer&#39;&#39;s eye as the discs rotate one on top of the other.

ite States Patent 1 Munich VISUAL INDICATION APPARATUS WTTI-ll ROTATABLETRANSPARENT DISCS [75] Inventor: Joseph ll-Iorzick, West Chicago, Ill.

[73] Assignee: Motorola, ]lnc., Chicago, Ill.

[22] Filed: Aug. 29, 1973 [2]] Appl. No.: 392,838

[52] US. Cl. 58/126 R, 116/115 [51] Int. Cl. G04b 19/00 [58] Field ofSearch 58/126 R, 126 A, 126 D,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/1967 Beall, Jr. et a1116/115 X 5/1972 Calama 58/127 R X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONSSwitzerland 58/126 A Apr. 16, 1974 Primary Examiner-George H. Miller,Jr. Attorney, Agent, or FirmVincent J. Rauner; Donald B. Southard [5 7]ABSTRACT A novel rotary indicator apparatus which is particularlysuitable for timepieces but which is adaptable for any application wherederived information is to be visually displayed. For time-pieces two ormore graduated discs are utilized in co-centric relation to one another.At least one of such discs is caused to rotate with respect to the otherby having the respective discs exhibit a progressively decreasing colorintensity but in opposite directions, a unique visual effect ortraveling zone is evidenced to the viewers eye as the discs rotate oneon top of the other.

5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures VISUAL INDICATION APPARATUS WITH ROTATABLETRANSPARENT DISCS BACKGROUND Without imposing a limitation as to anyother potential applications, the present invention is set forth anddisclosed in the environment of timepieces.

The conventional method of displaying information, particularly forclocks or timepieces generally, is by moving radial arms or hands abouta circular dial face. The watch hands are more often than not quitefragile,

particularly the second hand. Additionally, it takes a discemable amountof time to correlate the respective positions of the plurality clock orwatch hands for the conventional timepiece so as to correctly determinethe particular time.

SUMMARY An object of the present invention is to provide an improvedrotary indicator apparatus which exhibits a novel visual'effect.

A more particular object of the present invention is to provide improvedvisual indicator apparatus for a timepiece which provides an immediateand accurate indication of time at a glance.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved visualindicator apparatus of the foregoing type for timepieces in whichconventional radial or clock hands are not required.

In a preferred embodiment, as applied to timepieces, a plurality ofgraduated plastic discs are arranged one on top of another on the clockor dial face. The discs aremade of any suitably transparent materialwith the portions that are visible being graduated in color from full or1.00 percent intei'lsity down to some nominal value, say in the 5percent range. One disc is made stationary with the remaining disc ordiscs beingselectively rotated in the same manner and by the same rotaryshafts of the associated timepiece as used for the conventional radialarms or clock hands.

Accordingly, as one disc rotates in relation to another, a continuallyexpanding zone of either darker or lighter color tone is presented tothe eye which provides an immediate and accurate indication of time at aglance, while at the same time effects an attractive and pleasing visualeffect to the viewer. Separate rotatable, discs may be employed forminute and hour references in addition to indicating seconds.Alternatively, it may be desirable or otherwise preferable to merelyindicate seconds and utilize other means for referencing minutes andhours. Further, markers of one sort or another may be utilized on theminute and hour discs, if used,- to provide a more conventional timereferences in addition to the traveling zone effect. In this instance,however, conventional radial arms or hands are nevertheless still notrequired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The features of the present inventionwhich are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in theappended claims. The invention, itself, however, together with furtherobjects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference tothe following description when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a desk clock or timepiece whichhas been constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the clock of FIG. ll wherein therespective rotatable discs are shown arranged one on top of the other;

FIGS. 3a through 3d are front plan views of the respective discs shownin side elevation in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 41 shows a pair of rotatable discs in perspective to illustrate thetraveling zone effect.

Referring now to the drawings, a timepiece in the form ofa desk or tableclock 10 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, which timepiece has been constructedin accordance with the present invention. As previously mentioned,however, the invention itself is in no way limited to timepieces, butmay be utilized advantageously in a wide variety of applications whereit is desired to visually display derived information. Incorporationinto timepieces is but one such advantageous application.

As seen in FIGS. l and 2, timepiece 110 includes a housing 12 integralwith an L-shaped pedestal or base 14. A transparent cap 116 covers thefront of the dial face. As best seen in FIG. 2, a plurality of hollowshafts, rotatably mounted within housing 12, extend laterally outwardfrom the dial face. Shaft 20a, utilized for rotatably indicatingseconds, is turnably mounted within a hollow shaft 20b, the latterrotatably indicating min- 4 utes." Shaft 20b, is in turn mounted withina further hollow shaft 200 for indicating hours. The mechanism forselectively rotating the shafts 20a through 200 is not shown in detailsince it forms no part of the pres ent invention, and further, isconventional in any clock orwatch, and accordingly will be readilyunderstood by those skilled in the art. i

The time indicating elements for timepiece It) are provided in the formof a plurality of transparent disc members 30, 32, 3d and 36 arrangedone on top of another on the dial face (FIG. 2), and which are shownindividually in plan view in FIGS. 3a through 3c. Asindicated, disc 32is mounted upon and is rotated by shaft 20c and, as will be explainedsubsequently, is effective to indicate hours." That is, it is effectivein combination with the base, or master, disc member 30, the latterbeing attached directly to the dial face of the timepiece and remainsstationary at all times.

In like manner, the disc 34 is mounted on and is rotated by the controlshaft 20b. Disc 34, in association with master disc 30, is effective toindicate minutes." Moreover, whereas the hour disc 32 is substantiallythe same size or diameter as the master disc 30, disc 34 is somewhatsmaller than disc 30. Disc 36, for indicating seconds, is constructed tobe still smaller than the disc member 34. It is, of course, mounted onand is rotated by the control shaft 200. I

As will be appreciated in FIG. ll, which shows the disc 30 through 36 inplan view arranged on top of one another, disc 32 may be seen as acircular strip, with disc 34 being viewed as a still smaller circularstrip cocentric with, but inside, the inner periphery of disc 32.

Disc 36 is viewed as a full circle, but smaller than the inner peripheryof disc 34. The double-circular dots in bullseye, representing the hoursof 12, 3, 6 and 9 together with the single circles, for the hours of l,2, 4, 5, 7, 8, l and l 1, may be conveniently etched into or otherwiseaffixed to the transparent clock face cover 16.

As might be appreciated, the hour, minute, and second indicating discs32, 34 and 36, respectively, are constructed of a suitably transparentmaterial, such as a medium or heavy gauge plastic or cellulose acetatesheeting. One such material is available commercially under the brandname Plexiglassl' In practice, it has been found that a material of thissort of approximately 0.007 inches thickness provides satisfactoryoperation in the environment as herein described. Master disc 30, ofcourse, does not need to be transparent and accordingly, may be of anysuitable material, including paper stock or the like. In any event, itis attached directly to the dial of timepiece 10 and the remaining discsrotate in relation to the stationary master disc v30. The hour, minuteand second bands or rings on master 30 are identified, respectively, at30a, 30b and 300 (FIG. 3a). In a clockwise direction, each of the bandsor circular segments 30a, 30b and 300 are colored or opaqued starting ata reference line or radius designated at x. The color intensity thereofprogressively decreases from the full of 100 percent intensity level atreference x until it reaches a nominal percent at substantially fullcircle. The graduated coloring may be accomplished by any one of anumber of presently known techniques, such as lithography or anacceptable silk screening process. The density of the printing dots mayvary over predetermined range. However, it has been found that thenominal 120 line density may be preferred.

It has also been found that it is more desirable to utilize differentcolors for the respective bands or segments as depicted in master disc30of FIG. 3a. This enables the eye to quickly distinguish the respectivebands and thereby discern the particuar time displayed at a quickglance. For example, the outer ring 30a may be provided as a brightorange coloring, while the ring 30b for indicating minutes may beattractively portrayed in a lavender coloring, with the circular centerportion occupied by disc 36 being of a less conspicuous color, such asblack, since it presents substantially greater area. It is to beunderstood, however, that the specific coloring form no part of thepresent invention and should be left entirely to subjective preferences.

The transparent discs 32, 34 and 36 associated with master disc 30include the same graduating color scheme, except in reverse order. Thatis, the progressive decrease in opaqueness or color intensity iseffected in a counter clockwise direction as opposed to the clockwisedirection for disc member 30. In this way, the traveling zone effect isexhibited when each of the discs 32, 34 and 36 rotate in relation to themaster disc 30.

This traveling zone effect may be more readily appreciated uponreference to FIG. 4 which illustrates a view in perspective of disc 36in rotative relation to the center portion 30c of disc 30. As disc 36rotates, say in a clockwise direction, the full or percent colorintensity area following reference line X overlaps the full colorintensity area of disc portion 30c which begins at reference line X,thereby creating a wedge-shaped zone of visibly darker tone or shading.This zone continues to expand arcuately as disc 36 is rotated by theshaft 20a until reference line X travels full circle and the cycle thenrepeats. The same traveling zone effect is obtained by disc member 32 incombination with the inner strip portion or ring 30b of master disc 30and also by disc member 34 in combination with the outer strip portionor ring 3011 of disc 30.

While only particular embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art thatcertain modifications and alternative constructions may be made withoutmaterially departing from the invention in its broader aspects and,accordingly, the appended claims are intended to cover all such changesand alternative construction that may fall within the true scope andspirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a timepiece of the type having concentric hollow shafts forreferencing seconds, minutes and hours, improved rotary indicatorapparatus including in combination:

a dial face comprising a plurality of concentric circular bands eachhaving a graduated color intensity and which progressively decreasesfrom substantially full color in a given rotary direction; and

a plurality of transparent discs arranged on said concentric hollowshafts in substantial coaxial alignment with each other and to said dialface;

each of said plurality of transparent discs having a correspondingcircular band overlaying a respective one of said dial face circularbands, and which includes the same said graduated color intensity butprogressively decreasing in a rotary direction opposite to said firstnamed direction,

each said transparent disc creating a traveling zone effect as itrotates in relation to an associated one of said dial face circularbands.

2. Rotary indicator apparatus for a timepiece in accordance with claim 1wherein said transparent discs are formed of a cellulose acetatematerial with a thickness in the range of 0.007 inches.

3. Rotary indicator apparatus in acordance with claim 1 wherein thegraduated color intensity of said plurality of transparent discs variesbetween substantially full color intensity and approximately fivepercent thereof.

4. Rotary indicator apparatus for a timepiece in accordance with claim 1wherein there are at least three transparent discs of differing colorsand of progressively smaller diameters to represent, respectively,hours, minutes and seconds.

5. Rotary indicator apparatus for a timepiece in accordance with claim 4wherein said transparent discs of graduated but differing colorsincludes a full color intensity level in the range of lines per inchwhen applied by a lithographic printing process.

1. In a timepiece of the type having concentric hollow shafts forreferencing seconds, minutes and hours, improved rotary indicatorapparatus including in combination: a dial face comprising a pluralityof concentric circular bands each having a graduated color intensity andwhich progressively decreases from substantially full color in a givenrotary direction; and a plurality of transparent discs arranged on saidconcentric hollow shafts in substantial coaxial alignment with eachother and to said dial face; each of said plurality of transparent discshaving a corresponding circular band overlaying a respective one of saiddial face circular bands, and which includes the same said graduatedcolor intensity but progressively decreasing in a rotary directionopposite to said first named direction, each said transparent disccreating a traveling zone effect as it rotates in relation to anassociated one of said dial face circular bands.
 2. Rotary indicatorapparatus for a timepiece in accordance with claim 1 wherein saidtransparent discs are formed of a cellulose acetate material with athickness in the range of 0.007 inches.
 3. Rotary indicator apparatus inacordance with claim 1 wherein the graduated color intensity of saidplurality of transparent discs varies between substantially full colorintensity and approximately five percent thereof.
 4. Rotary indicatorapparatus for a timepiece in accordance with claim 1 wherein there areat least three transparent discs of differing colors and ofprogressively smaller diameters to represent, respectively, hours,minutes and seconds.
 5. Rotary indicator apparatus for a timepiece inaccordance with claim 4 wherein said transparent discs of graduated butdiffering colors includes a full color intensity level in the range of120 lines per inch when applied by a lithographic printing process.